La Boite Noire (French for "The Black Box") was an idea born from classroom discussions and personal nightmares. While participating in U.T. ACTLAB founder Sandy Stone's Postmodern Gothic course, students were required to push their limits and explore their own minds relating to the topics researched for class.

The general concept behind La Boite Noire was to create a world where people could interact with their own minds in a hyper real state (i.e., sleep deprivation tanks), and hopefully confront their own fears. This was to be a "living" art piece, or one in which human contact must be present to complete it.

Initially, the idea was to create a structure which would mimic death, that is, have a world of "virtual limbo"...the theorized crossover point between life and death. After more input, and an extraordinary class discussion, the idea was re-vamped to include the ultimate monster concept: the individual without identity. In other words, without identity humans are programmed to feel lost and alone, inspiring a fear of nothingness, or monstrosity.

It was the creator's full belief that the two went hand in hand. Personal experiences fueled the two theories, creating the final project: a design in which the creator had control over participant's fates inside La Boite Noire.

Constructed over a period of three weeks, the design focused on and incorporated postmodernism and gothic structure. Likewise, it included the much needed class requirements for monstrosity, cyborgs, dreamstates, and desire.

The final project was to be a structure, draped in black, which could be lowered and raised via pulleys. Inside, participants would experience a world of darkness, only dimly lit via a hanging water "chandelier." Only your personal thoughts would be allowed inside. Participants could experience this unflattering world with media playing outside, human conversations, or the preferred method: extreme silence. This would also be coupled with a test to see how long one could last within.

After the inaugural showing, many participants were amazed at the outcome, and surprised by how their own minds performed. In the end, La Boite Noire created what it was designed to, but ultimately, opened new doors of personal exploration for all who challenged it.